A brief and revealing history of the swimsuit

From drawers and waistcoasts to the bikini, swimwear has always made quite a splash.

In the 1920s, scandalous one-piece swimwear exposed a woman's bare arms and legs.
(Photo: Public Domain/Wikipedia)

It may seem
strange, but, the development of
modern
swimsuits
can be directly traced back to the early days of the railroads.
In the 19th century, as trains made it easier for inland dwellers to journey to
oceans and lakes, appropriate clothing for swimming and wading were required
for those who frolicked in the water.

For most of
recorded history, swimming was
done
in the nude
. Ancient Roman depictions of swimmers show nude swimmers of
both genders.

But after much time
passed, “civilized”
societies
put into place strict dress codes to match their sensibilities.

In Bath,
England
, which known for its water recreations, a 1737 policy required
swimwear for both sexes:

It is Ordered Established and Decreed by
this Corporation that no Male person above the age of ten years shall at any time
hereafter go into any Bath or Baths within this City by day or by night without
a Pair of
Drawers and
a
Waistcoat on
their bodies. No Female person shall at any time hereafter go into a Bath or
Baths within this City by day or by night without a decent
Shift on
their bodies.

Later
that century, in Tobias Smollett’s 1771 epistolary novel "The Expedition of
Humphry Clinker,” the author gives a
description of female swimwear that was in fashion at the time:
The
ladies wear jackets and petticoats of brown linen
…but,
truly, whether it is owing to the steam that surrounds them, or the heat of the
water, or the nature of the dress, or to all these causes together, they look
so flushed, and so frightful, that I always turn my eyes another way.

A woman in very covered up as she hits the beach in her bathing suit around 1858. (Photo: Public Domain/Wikipedia)

The Victorian era swept in a flurry of high and
puritan morals, and swimming attire did not escape the tide. A 19th century
edition of “La Belle Assemblee Fashions” advertised
a sample of proper women’s swimsuits:
A gown of white French cambric, or pale pink
muslin, with sleeves and cuffs of white muslin worn over (trousers)
…which
are trimmed the same as the hem of the dress
…with
gloves of pale buff kid; and shoes of yellow or white.

The goal of a typical
outfit was to completely cover all skin to avoid direct exposure to the sun (no
woman wanted a
suntan — that
was the sign of a common laborer) and hats were included.

Men’s
swimsuits during the era were garments that resembled one-piece long underwear.

At the turn of the 20th century, women (shockingly) no longer wore hats or gloves, although the standard attire still covered the torso, arms and legs.

Australian Annette Kellerman was arrested for indecent exposure for performing an early version of water ballet in a tight, revealing swimsuit. (Photo: Public Domain/Wikipedia)

Deviation from such
clothing was banned. In 1907, Australian Annette Kellerman went on tour in
America with an early version of water ballet. To perform her complex maneuvers
easily, she wore a tight swimsuit that exposed her arms and legs and neck. She was
promptly arrested in Massachusetts for indecent exposure.

The 1910s was a decade
of great transition. Women no longer wore swimsuits with arms or full leg
coverings, and women began to look at swimming not just as an occasional
recreational pastime but also as an athletic competition. To accommodate the
new sport, suits were streamlined to be form-fitting so as not to hinder speed
in the water.

The following decade,
the Roaring Twenties, saw even more relaxation of women’s
swimwear and featured one-piece suits that exposed the arms and legs. These
suits would remain the standard attire until 1946 when Louis Réard,
a French automobile engineer turned fashion designer, debuted the swimsuit that
would last to the present time:
the bikini. He named it after the Bikini Atoll, site of nuclear bomb testing, as
he stated he expected the fashion to explode on the world’s
beaches. He probably had no idea of the longevity and popularity of his design.
Sales were steady.

Micheline Bernardini models Réard's bikini on July 5, 1946. It was so small it could fit into a tiny (2x2-inch inch) box like the one she is holding. (Photo: Fair Use/Wikipedia)

The popularity of Réard’s
swimsuit went massive in the 1960s due to the popular media attention grabbed
by Brian Hyland’s 1960 song hit "
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” and a
string of films starring Annette Funicello that featured her and her female
co-stars cavorting on a beach in two-piece swimsuits. And it’s worth noting that 1964
also saw the advent of Sports Illustrated magazine’s
landmark swimsuit issue.

Swimwear today, for both
women and men, span features from the past centuries. Currently a variety of
swimsuits ranging from one-pieces to two-pieces (not to mention no-pieces on
naturalist beaches) can be found at lakes and rivers and oceans around the
world.